Comings and Goings

Song  (video) - Oak Titmice Raise a Family by Rob J. Watson

Time for a short intermission about Paris because the birds have gone wild in my garden!

The little Oak Titmouse outside of my dining room door has been happily nesting in Mr. B's birdhouse for several weeks now.  Every morning I can hear the daddy call to the mom "scuse me", "scuse me", "scuse me" until she comes out of the house.  Lately this has been going on more often during the day. I can't believe that he interrupts her so sweetly with his call "scuse me".  He either greets her with some food or she flies off to find something while he stands guard over their house.



That's nest number one in our yard.

Yesterday I was doing some hand watering and noticed a little Black-Capped Chickadee clinging on the tree next to Andy's nesting box.  Today I saw her go inside.  So I set up my tripod and camera on the path in front of the box. nothing.......nothing.....So I set it up on the upper deck looking through tree branches.

And within minutes, there she was!

That is nest number two!

As I walked around the side of the house to get some gardening tools, I startled a Mourning Dove on the ground.  He flew up onto the gate.  Mama has made a nest in the same spot for the fifth year in a row.

She used to make it on the red ladder but now she likes the nesting box under the eves.

That would be nest number 3.

My neighbor came by this afternoon to tell me about some travel plans and mentioned that the Cooper's Hawk has built a nest in the Oak tree between our houses again. Her father planted these Oak trees from tiny trees growing in milk cartons from UC Davis in 1949.

I didn't see any activity way up there today so I am sharing two photos from when they nested in the same tree several years ago.

The photo above is an adult hawk and the photo below is of a juvenile.  

 That makes nest number four!!! 

See what I mean about the birds going wild?

"The early bird gets the worm.  

The early worm......gets eaten."

 -- Norman Ralph Augustine

Learning to Fly - Part Cinq

Song - Come Fly With Me by Frank Sinatra

ART - It's everywhere you look in Paris

Look up, look down and look all around.

**Hint: purchase a 2, 4 or 6 day Museum Pass at a small museum and then you won’t have to wait in the queue at the larger museums with long lines.

Musse d’Orsay - 7th Arr. -  It was once a railroad station and now houses a stunning collection of Impressionist art. 1 Rue de la Legion d'Honneur

And be sure you take a leisurely break in their beautiful tea room.

 

Louvre - 2nd Arr. - A former historic palace - it is amazing but too overwhelmingly big for me but it is so worth seeing the Winged Victory and the Mona Lisa or take a walking tour to catch the highlights. Rue de Rivoli

Musee Rodin - 7th Arr. - Opened in 1917 by the sculptor Auguste Rodin, the museum includes a lot of his work in the Hotel Biron, a small rococo palace and its gardens are amazing as well. 77 Rue de Varenne

Petit Palais - Richly decorated 1900 building, housing eclectic fine arts dating from Renaissance to 20th century. They will be having a temporary exhibition 'Dutch artists in Paris, 1789-1914' through May 13th - Avenue Winston Churchill

Musee de l’Orangerie

Museum with 20th-century European art collection, showcasing 8 of Monet's water lilies murals.

Jardin Tuileries

 Musee Carnavalet - 3rd Arr. -  Museum in neighboring mansions with Paris art & history exhibits focused on 16th & 17th centuries. Opened in 1880, the Carnavalet Museum features all types of art work, and through these it narrates the history of Paris from its foundation to the present day.

16 Rue des Francs Bourgeois

Musée Eugène Delacroix – 6^th Arr. - Sketches & paintings by enigmatic artist Delacroix, displayed in his house, studio & small museum. 6 Rue Furstenberg

Musee de Cluny - 5th Arr. - Turreted Gothic mansion housing vast collection of medieval arts, crafts & tapestries. 6 Place Paul Painleve

Musée Marmottan Monet - 16th Arr. - Art museum with a significant collection of work by Claude Monet, and other Impressionists. 2 Rue Louis Boilly

Musee Jacquemart-André  - 8th Arr. - A private museum that has occasional important showings.  Check first. They are having a exhibit of Mary Cassatt's work through July 23. 158 Boulevard Haussmann

"I really believe if you practiced enough 

you could paint the 'Mona Lisa' with a two-inch brush" 

-- Bob Ross 

Learning to Fly - Part Quatre

Song -  Smile by Madeleine Peyroux

Paris is an amazing place to people watch.  I always travel with my camera that has a great zoom lens so that people usually don't realize they are being photographed.  I use these photo's for reference when I am painting.  I did ask the woman in the photo above if it was OK to take her photo making crepes.  She very happily said "oui" as do most people when I ask.

Waiters and people at cafes are always favorites of mine.

Hot chestnuts cooking on the back of this motorcycle.

 Sometimes it's not until I return home from my trip and check out my photos on my computer screen that I realize that I may have gotten more than I bargained for!!

ooh..la la....Paris is the city of love.......even the angels that are holding onto the fountain are giving these two a double take.

The men playing petanque in the Luxemboug gardens are fun to watch as they are very passionate about their game.

The open air markets are fun for several reasons - people, food and flowers!

Young love.....what can I say?

And a more mature kind of admiration....

Doggie love is everywhere in Paris.

They also love their cheese - don't forget to look in shop windows.  

This cheese monger is trying to find the perfect fromage for his customer.

Look at the expression of this little guy looking at statues in the Musee Rodin.

Remember there are colorful characters where ever you go!

And you might just be one yourself!
 

(And no it was not Halloween but Springtime)

"If everyone would look for that uniqueness 

then we would have a very colorful world."

--Michael Schenker